The Last of Us: Lost in Darkness
by TheRazgriz016
Summary: Ellie must face her biggest fears in her journey across the dead, infected remains of the US in a journey to find the answers and learn the truth. Broken and untrusting, could she ever let someone into her life again when everyone she grows close to is taken from her? She may have one last chance to find out. But someone is watching her, tracing he moves, waiting catch her out...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note - Hi guys, I recently decided that I wanted to have a go at what I think could have happened to Joel and Ellie after the end credits role in The Last of Us. I was inspired to write this after reading similar stories written by the author thehammerofthor. I seriously recommend that you go to read his trilogy labled "Aftermath" but also his standalone story titled "The Hope". The Hope is the biggest inspiration for this story and genuinly seems a plausible sequel to The Last of Us. Definitely give him a look-see. My story picks up where The Hope finishes but the first couple of paragraphs were written by Thor, I'll denote where my writing begins with a horizontal line.**

 **Anyway, ramblings aside, here's the first chapter, please feel free to review it and give me feedback. All is welcome here as long as it is constructive. Enjoy!**

 **u/4926075/thehammerofthor**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Last of Us, it is proudly owned by the developers Naughty Dog.**

* * *

 **The Last of Us: Lost in Darkness**

An hour of fruitless walking brought her to the shore of a lake. A heavy mist hung over the glassy pane of the surface, still and tranquil in the cool morning air. The lake reminded her of Joel, as so many things did since his passing. She remembered her floundering efforts to swim, and his patient instruction led to her mastery of the sport.

The shore was lined with large, flat rocks. She stepped onto one of them, testing it's stability before setting the bow down and taking a seat on the rock. She swung the guitar around and pulled the notebook from her back pocket. It was filled with the chords and fingerings that Joel had managed to teach her. She was lousy at it so far, but improving, and the notebook had become as prized of possession as any in her backpack.

She strummed a few chords, searching for a few that would go well together. Joel had only ever sung her one song, right before giving her the guitar as a gift. She had been searching for its chords ever since, too stubborn to ask Joel to teach it to her. With each passing day, the memory of the song and it's melody faded just a bit more, so her search for the chords had become a dire mission for her.

Ellie played another chord and let it ring out. Another sound rose between the fading notes of the guitar. Footsteps. Her eyes drifted to the bow and arrow beside her.

A woman's voice came from somewhere behind her.

"Hello, Ellie."

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Nightmares**

The voice froze her on the spot and sent an icy chill down her spine. She glanced down one more at the bow beside her, inching her hand closer to the sharp arrow beside it.

"I wouldn't even think about that, Ellie." The voice said. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to."

Ellie stopped her hand in place then slowly brought it back to the neck of the guitar.

"What do you want?" Ellie asked coldly, studying the strings and practicing the chords she had already memorised.

"Stand up." The voice demanded.

She sat still and silent for a moment before pulling the guitar strap over her head. Before she could put it down, Ellie was pulled backwards off the rock. The guitar slipped from her fingers and clattered noisily to the ground. She struggled against her captor, concerned for the state of the instrument. Her trainers left deep ruts in the earth as she was dragged to her feet.

"Let go of me, you fucker!" She protested, kicking and flailing her arms wildly in an attempt to escape.

She felt one of her closed fists smack into something solid and she yelped in pain. Her face was pushed into the dirt as a pair of unseen hands began removing her jacket and shirt. At that moment, as if they were still fresh wounds, all the painful memories and nightmares flooded into her mind. For the briefest of moment, the unknown attacker could have easily been David. Red hot tears began streaming from her eyes. Just the thought of his name still turned her stomach and made her head spin. Ellie felt sick. It had been almost three years since that snowy Colorado day but the fear still cut through her like David's machete so easily could have done. She was broken and damaged. But like hell was she going down without a fight.

"Steven, stop." The woman's voice commanded.

The man didn't loosen his grip on Ellie's clothes but he stopped what he was doing.

"Susan, we need to make sure she's the one. This can't be another dead end. We've been through too much to lose this now." Steven said, frantically checking the exposed flesh of Ellie's body.

He stopped dead when his gloved fingers ran over the bite mark on her arm. He recoiled at the touch but seemed to relax a bit. Susan had seen it too.

"It's her..." Susan breathed. "Let go of her."

Ellie felt Steven's grip on her and she struggled free of his hands. Her feet scrambled in the soft earth as she pushed her back up against a tree. Finally Ellie got a good look at her attackers. The man stood at around 6" tall, dressed head to toe in black military fatigues. His body from neck to stomach was protected by hardened body armour. Her hand throbbed again at the thought of the solid impact. An assault rifle hung menacingly by his side, attached by a piece of bungee cord to his shoulder. A balaclava covered all but his eyes as he stared at her. He reminded her of the soldiers that patrolled the Boston Quarantine Zone in Massachusetts. That all seemed so long ago, so far away. Finanlly, Ellie's eyes settled on Susan. She felt her blood begin to boil. The sandy blonde hair, her bluish-grey eyes. Ellie would never forget the woman that stood over Joel's corpse as bullets whizzed around her. The memory came flooding back to her, the black figures firing automatically at the townsfolk, Tommy and Maria dying together in a hail of lead, the wretched stench of diesel from the hulking APCs.

Susan took a step towards the cowering girl pressed up against a tree like a cornered rat, her eyes darting quickly between herself and Steven. She didn't blame Ellie for being afraid. Many had feared the black armour and military grade weapons her group bore. She crouched on one knee and offered the girl her hand.

"Ellie, you don't need to be afraid. We don't want to hurt you." Susan told her, as if butter wouldn't melt.

 _Yeah, you got that right._ Ellie thought.

"H-how the fuck do you know my name?" Ellie asked, her stare never leaving Susan's face for a moment.

Susan shuffled closer to Ellie and took hold of her arm, rolling up the sleeve to reveal the bite marks once again.

"Do you have any idea what this means? About who you are?" Susan sighed. " I know you're immune, Ellie."

The colour faded from Ellie's face.

"You...you what?" She stammered.

"Three years." Susan continued. "Three years I have searched for you. You must have only been fifteen when I'd first heard the rumours of a little girl, immune to the infection."

"Yeah...well, I'm not so little anymore." Ellie said, snatching her arm back and rolling her sleeve down again.

"I guess you're right. You must be, what? 19?" Susan asked.

Ellie remained silent, trying not to let her hatred for this woman show on her face. She wasn't doing a good job.

"You know, Ellie, you and I aren't so different really." Susan said, taking a different approach. "You're obviously a strong individual. We need you, Ellie. This world needs you. Come with us and we can find a cure."

A single tear ran down Susan's cheek.

"A cure." She breathed.

Ellie inhaled deeply,, holding the oxygem in her lungs for a few seconds before exhaling it in a gust that caused her fringe to billow. Her hand reached down and touched the fabric between her fingers and the pocked bite mark. She could still feel the white lumps that had grown around it. She looked up at Susan's expectant face.

"No thanks." Ellie said quietly and defiantly.

Susan's face fell, Steven's right hand reached slowy down towards the pistol grip of his assault rifle.

"I don't think you understand, Ellie. We need you," Susan slowly got to her feet as Steven took a step forward. "This world needs you, and you're coming with us."

Steven cocked his assault rifle and let it swing by his side, instead pulling a police baton from his assault webbing. With a flick of his wrist, it extended out to a 40cm long rod. Ellie stared at it in horror and braced for the pain as Steven raised his arm.

As he was about to bring the metal baton down onto her, a familiar and terrifying sound caught on the wind. Cold sweat ran down her back as the sound grew nearer.

"Oh shit..." She whispered.

Click-Click-Click.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Afternote: Well, this is the first chapter of Lost in Darkness. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I know that it's a little on the short side at the moment but I definitely will pick up and progress the story the deeper into it we go. As I mentioned before, please review, PM and let me know what you think.**

 **Special Thanks to thehammerofthor for my inspiration. Seriously, go and read his story "The Hope" for a bit more backstone to this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note - We find out what happens after a pack of clickers stumble upon Ellie and her company in chapter 2. Took me the better part of the weekend to finish this but nevertheless, here it is.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Last of Us, it belongs to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Cabin in the Woods**

"Oh no.." Ellie breathed.

Steven froze with fear. The recognisable, gutteral screeching of an enraged clicker pierced through the still air. Susan and Steven exchanged a glance as her eyes wandered past him, wide as saucepans. Ellie followed her gaze. There, less than ten metres from them, a group of five clickers stumbled it's way clumsily towards them.

"Fuck." Susan gasped loudly.

One of the clickers stopped in it's tracks. It shuffled around to face the source of the noise, to face them. Steven took a careful step backwards, never taking his eyes off of the creature once.

 **Crack!**

Susan's head snapped around to Steven and treated him to an expression of complete horror as he looked down at the broken branch beneath his combat boot. He looked back at her as the five clickers screamed in unison, racing towards them. Susan screamed in terror as the beast rapidly closed the distance between them, it's arms flailing wildly, it's deformed head thrashing.

Steven dropped the baton and snatched for his assault rifle. His fingers found the sturdy pistol grip and he swung the weapon's muzzle up to meet the charging clicker. Ellie covered her ears as a burst of automatic fire erupted from the assault rifle, the empty casings clinked when they hit the forest floor.

"Susan! We've gotta go!" Steven yelled, turning and running fifteen metres before spinning around and looseing another barrage of fire at the monsters.

Susan drew her pistol and fired several single rounds. Ellie's ears rang between the rattle of automatic fire and the screeching of clickers. Her heart stopped as another sound soon joined with the clickers. She peered around the tree. Almost a dozen screaming runners sprinted towards them, attracted by the deafening gunfire. She had to do something. She couldn't stay tucked into the tree, she'd be ripped to shreds by the infected.

"No, Steven! We can't leave her now, we've come too far to lose her now!" Susan shouted between rounds.

What could she do? She was unarmed, outnumbered and terrified. Ellie frantically looked around, desperate to find inspiration. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her by the collar and started to drag her away from the tree. Between the bursting stars she saw a pair of combate boots pounding in the dirt. She dug her arms into the ground in an attempt to stop herself. She clasped her fingers tightly around a solid branch, aimed for the centre of the leg, and swung.

The bone made an awful crunch as the branch connected splintered against Susan's knee. She screamed and Ellie felt the pressure on her collar released. Ellie tumbled to the ground as Susan came crashing down next to her. The 9mm pistol clattered on the ground a few metres away. She had no time to waste. Ellie was up on her feet within seconds. She ran towards the shore where she'd thought she was alone minutes before, scooping up the 9mm as she passed it. Behind her, more weapons joined the racket of gunfire that echoed between the trees.

 _Run Ellie!_ She told herself. _Don't stop!_

She exploded from the treeline and splashed through sandy puddles in a rush to reach the rock. Her trainers soaked right through and coarse grains of sand stuck to her skin, rubbing her raw against the fabric of her jeans. Suddenly she became aware of thudding footsteps behind her. Looking over her should, she saw a single runner hot on her heels, foaming at the mouth. Ellie willed her legs to go faster.

 _So close to my stuff!_ She thought.

She covered the remaining distance and snatched up her bow and the arrow beside it. In a swift motion she turned to face the runner, nocked an arrow, drew back on the bowstring and released. The arrow shot forward with a twang before penetrating through the runner's eye socket. A loud bang and blast of air accompanied the impact. No, she it couldn't have been the arrow, could it? She glanced past the monster as it stumbled and fell before her. Smoke leaked from the treeline as another explosion and shockwave hit her. More voices had joined Steven's cries. Whoever these people were, there were a lot of them. She had get away. Far away, and fast.

Ellie quickly threw her backpack and guitar over her shoulders and dashed away into the woods. The gunfire behind her ceased with a long, drawn out burst of automatic fire. No more screams, no more shouting. The only sound was the thud of her trainers in the dirt and her rapid breathing. She kept running and didn't look back. She had no idea where she was going.

And she didn't care.

* * *

Susan let out a cry of pain as the object impacted into her leg, though the protective knee pad took the brunt of the blow. The strength faded from her already weakened muscles and they collapsed from under her. Stars danced in front of her eyes as her head smacked against the ground. Her grip loosened and she felt Ellie and her 9mm pistol slip from her grasp. Fire from Steven still echoed between the trees. She felt a twang of fear pierce through her when she heard him yell at her.

"Sue! Look out!"

Heavy footsteps and frantic wailing rapidly encroached from behind her.

She sluggishly rolled onto her back, her head still swimming from the blow but she could just make out the ferocious shape of the infected runner sprinting towards her. Before she knew it, the beast was on top of her, wildly beating her with it's limbs. Her biceps burned the longer she fought to hold off the creature. She briefly caught a glimpse of the ragged, gnashing teeth the runner was desperately trying to sink into her flesh. All attempts to kick the runner off ended only in a waste of energy. Her strength was fading, the jaws grew closer. Susan closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable pain of teeth ripping at her flesh.

The pain never came. Susan heard rather than felt as several high velocity rounds passed close to her body and into the runner's. It's body tensed up and screamed, sending vile spittle into her face. The limp corpses' weight lifted from her chest and she greedily sucked in oxygen. She lay on the ground, regaining her strength.

"Sue!" Steven shouted. She opened her eyes and saw him standing over her, an assault rifle in one hand, extended the other to her.

She took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. He gently slapped her shoulder. The terrifying screech of more infected filled the woods as a dozen more figures burst through towards them. Steven snatched the 9mm pistol from his holster and handed it to Susan before rushing off. She fired slowly and accurately at the nearest infected as Steven crouched down beside a tree, leaning against it to provide a more stable shooting platform. Automatic fire rang out from Steven's assault rifle as he layed down a wall of fire.

Susan kept firing.

 **Bang-Bang-Bang-Click.**

Horrified, Susan looked at the pistol. The slide had locked back and she had no more rounds, no magazines, no defence.

"Steven! I'm empty!" She screamed.

Her heart sank as Steven's assault rifle produced a similar click.

"Magazine!" He yelled, popping open his ammo pouch and pulling a magazine from it. "Last mag!"

Susan cursed. They were done for.

 **BOOM!**

The earth shook. Dirt showered over Susan as an explosion ripped through the oncoming infected. She picked up on three more weapons opening fire and the infected began to fall dead.

"Grenade!" A voice yelled. The voices all chorused the same word. Susan tucked herself in behind a tree trunk and braced for the shockwave.

 **BOOM!**

She never had gotten used to the grenades.

The screames of the infected were silenced for good with one, long, deafening, four second burst of automatic fire.

"Position clear! Position clear!" A familiar voice yelled. "Re-organise!"

Susan untucked herself and peered around the tree trunk and let out a sigh of relief. Four of her men had already grabbed Seven and pulled him into a defensive perimeter. She crawled towards them. One of them, clad in heavy riot control gear and brandishing a light machine gun, grabbed her clothes and pulled her into the middle of them. One of the gunmen lowered his weapon.

"We're clear, guys. Sue, you okay?" He asked, pulling the ballistic visor up over his helmet.

Susan stood up and brushed herself off. The other soldiers lowered their weapons but remained watchful for any more infected. She looked at her comrade's face, one she knew well and trusted with her life. A trust well deserved.

"Yeah. Thanks to you guys, Jacobs." She said, breathing out slowly.

Jacobs nodded.

"Where's the girl?" he asked. He knew there was no point messing about.

Susan felt the anger build up inside her.

"She got away." She said, trying to sound calm in front of her men. She decided not let them know where Ellie stood on going with them in the first place.

Jacobs just half nodded. He knew there had to be more to it than that. But he had known Susan a long time. She was nothing if not persistant. They'd find her. Or die trying.

"What now then, Sue?" Steven asked.

She stood silent a moment, lost in her own thoughts. She considered her responce.

"We keep looking." She said, addressing all of the soldiers. "Spread out. Look for ground sign that gives any indication of which way she went."

The men nodded then dispersed in different directions.

Susan shivered as the adrenaline began to wear off. She became aware of the throbbing pain in her right knee. The little bitch had whacked her good. She rested herself on a tree and scanned the ground for her own 9mm pistol. It became clear that Ellie had made off with it.

"Clever girl.." She mumbled to herself.

She felt a twang of frustration surge through her. This was the second time that girl had escaped her. It had taken them months to pick up her trail and now she was gone again. Not for the first time, Susan questioned why she was even going through with this whole chase. Why she was risking the lives of so many men and women that would follow her to the end and back again. Susan mentally slapped herself out of the moment of weakness. She remembered what had kept her going for three years. And she missed him dearly.

She was broken from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned to see the soldier carrying the light machine gun approach her.

"Philip found something down by the shore, Sue, if you want to come and have a look." The man said.

Susan nodded. The news had brought her spirits back up.

"Thanks, John." She said, confidently striding towards the shore and the rock she'd found Ellie sat upon, plucking away at her guitar.

Philip was waiting for her by Ellie's rock. He was crouched down examining the corpse of an infected runner. Susan grimaced when she noticed the steel head of an arrow protruding from the back of the corpse's skull.

"Jesus.." She said, kneeling down beside the corpse. Philip nodded slowly.

"Yeah. This girls good." He said, pointing behind her. "There are tracks that lead that way, back into the woods."

Susan followed his finger. Sure enough, a trail of imprinted shoeprints dotted in the sand between her position and the tree line. She pulled a small compass, a notepad and a pencil from her combat vest and scribbled down the direction.

"East." Susan said quietly. "She's heading East."

The sky darkened and the roar of thunder echoed through the Wyoming mountains.

"We'd better get a move on." Philip said.

"Rain's coming in."

* * *

Ellie's lungs burned and her legs ached. How far had she run? She couldn't remember but it felt like miles. She brought her legs to a halt and dropped to her knees,greedily sucking in oxygen. She swung her backpack off her shoulders and dug around, pulling a canteen of water out. Unscrewing the top she cautiously looked aroud, waiting for her heart rate drop down and her legs to recover. She gulped down a few mouthfuls of water before screwing the top back onto the bottle and replacing it into her backpack.

Cool drops of rain began to lazily drop onto her forehead. For a moment, she allowed herself to lean back against a mossy boulder and close her eyes. Her heavy breathing had almost returned to some state of normality. She sucked air in through her nose before exhaling it into vapourous clouds of steam as the temperature started to drop. Green foliage and moss covered rocks surrounded her on all sides and the birds sang harmoniously to each other in the tree tops. She may have had a comfortable life in Jackson county, where the food was plenty and the walls kept her safe. But she had always felt more alive beyond the perimeter fences. One with nature she would stalk her prey like a hunter. She loved the sounds and smells of the fresh, woodland air. Joel would often take her down to the river and teach her bit by bit how to swim like a fish.

A stab of pain forced it's way into her gut, tying her in knots and feeding fuel to the tears stinging behind her eyes. As much as she loved the wilds, anything she killed, any new skill she'd mastered, she would always return home to tell Joel her stories of adventure. But that life was all but destroyed now. Jackson was gone, the river was gone. Joel was gone.

The rain had begun to fall, gradually dampening her face to the point she couldn't feel the individual tears rolling down her cheeks. She let out a saddened sigh, slung her backpack straps then continued in the direction she'd been going. She didn't recognise where she was, but that didn't matter.

 _It's not like I've got anywhere else to go._ She thought sadly.

Thunder tore through the sky and a flash of lighting lit up the shadows as she walked. Her clothes were now soaking wet and heavy. Every step became a challenge in the soggy underbrush. She stepped out of the woods onto a beaten old dirt road. The rain filled in the various potholes and trenches running up either side. Ellie paused for a moment, deciding which route to take. She considered each direction before setting off, following the track to the right. She heard the gentle rush of a river in the distance. And what she though was more thunder.

Ellie pulled her hood over her head to provide some protection from the downpour. It had only grown stronger in the half hour she had been following the track. She paused for a moment and studied the forest either side of her. It was beginning to get dark but she wouldn't allow her mind to play tricks on her. She ignored the shadows of the trees and rocks and continued walking.

After walking a few more paces she stopped again. Something wasn't right. It was too quiet. Even through the gentle rainfall, she should have heard the birds singing and the deer roaring for each other. But she heard nothing. Only the rain and thunder. It was then that she realised what was wrong. The thunder was too even. Natural thunder rose and fell in noise levels, almost deafening at it's worse and barely audible at it's weakest. This sound was constant. No, not constant.

Getting louder.

Ellie began walking again at a brisker pace. She had a really bad feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. The noise was barely audible at first but now it seemed to be all around her. She stared into the woods, desperately trying to pick out the source of the noise which was almost deafening her now. She drew her bow and nocked an arrow then turned to face the road again. She recoiled in horror.

Around the blind corner came two massive, hulking monsters of metal and machinery. Ellie had seen them before. She froze on the spot as she was caught in the driver's view. The behemoth slammed on the brakes, causing it's tracks to skid in the mud and the rear end to rise up. The back end of the vehicle crashed down to earth with a squeel of the jockey wheels and a squelch is displaced mud. Protruding from a hatch on top of the terrifying turret, the wide eyed vehicle stared down at her in disbelief.

"What the fuck?" He yelled, barely audible over the beasts engines.

Ellie drew back the bowstring and loosed an arrow at the vehicle commander, striking his shoulder. The force knocked him back.

"You bitch!" he screamed. "Get her. boys!"

The point APC roared as it span around to the right on a dime.

"Fuck!" Ellie, cursed loudly, taking off into the wood line.

The APCs reversed rapidly back the way they had come in an effort to follow her. A sound like tearing fabric ripped through the air as a hail of bullets whizzed past Ellie's shoulder. Her whole body cried out in protest as she bounced over rocks and fallen trees in an attempt to escape the metal monsters line of fire. Ellie glanced over her shoulder and saw the pair charging down the road parallel to her tree line. As long as she stayed in the trees, the APCs couldn't follow.

No sooner had the thought left her head, she found herself in open ground again. A steep ravine down to the river lay opposite her and she skidded to a halt to stop herself from going over the edge. She looked behind her and started to run again but one APC emerged from the road and roared down the road towards her. She was about to turn and run the opposite direction when the second APC burst out behind her. Surrounded on all sides she saw no other option. Bullets landed at her feet as she stepped over the drop and let gravity take her.

"SHIT!" She yelled.

Ellie rolled down the slope, the gravel scraping away the flesh of her backside and elbows. It wasn't a very big drop but it was steep. She hit the bottom of the slope but momentum kept her going and she carried on into the river with a splash. She struggled to keep her head above the surface as the current took her far from the hulking machines of death behind her.

The river carried her far downstream, past rocks and overhanging trees until it finally deposited her into a lake. There, she regained her senses and used her remaining strength to swim ashore. Ellie hit the rocky beach and dragged herself out of the freezing water. She lay shivering on the beach for a couple of minutes, regaining her breath.

"Whoa nelly, that was close." She murmered to herself.

Once she gained sufficent strength she pulled herself to her feet and wrang out her pony tail. Night had begun to fall and she needed to get out of her wet clothes before she froze. She had to get moving. Miraculously, her guitar hadn't been damaged. She breathed a sigh of relief then made her way off of the rocky beach and into the woods that sat beyond the shore. She walked for ten minutes, stumbling through the trees.

 _Huh, one with nature my ass._ She thought as she crashed through the bushes and trees.

She stopped suddenly. Something had caught her eye in the darkness ahead. The faint outline of a building. She upped the pace slightly but remained aware of the threat of infected. Or worse. She delved into her backpack and pulled out the 9mm handgun she had picked up running from Susie. Or was it Susan? Ellie was too cold and tired to remember properly. With her pistol at the ready, she pushed open the wooden door to the cabin.

It seemed all clear. The single roomed cabin looked like it hadn't been used in years. She dropped her pistol on the small, round table in the centre of the room and placed her backpack and guitar underneath it. A very old wood burning stove sat against one room of the building with enough wood near it to last the night. Ellie immediately set about lighting a fire in the stove. After several minutes of failed attempts with numb fingers, she finally got the paper and kindling to catch. Bright orange flame produced instant heat that stung Ellie's fingertips. She tossed in a couple of firewood logs then shut the iron cast door.

Ellie sat back, watching the intense flames scorch the wood black.

Funny, she thought, of how she could relate herself to a burning piece of wood. But a husk of it's former self, everything burned away and turned to ash. Thankfully, her angry stomach pulled her from her dark thoughts. Several wooden cupboards adorned the walls of the cabin. She gingerly pulled one open and was relieved to find that the food supplies were as untouched as the cabin was. The burning fire heated up the cabin nicely as Ellie pulled a can from the cupboard and studied the faded label.

"Smith's cherry pie filling." She read to herself.

Ellie shrugged her shoulders and stuffed the can, along with several other tins of food into her backpack for the future. She ripped open a tin without looking at it's contents and wolfed the lot down.

Before settling down on the dust-covered camping cot pushed into the corner, she bolted the door shut, covered the windows and dug about in her backpack again.

She lay down on the camping cot, snuggling up into a ball despite the warmth of the cabin. In her hands she held the notepad Joel had given to her along with her guitar. She silently read the first sentence in it.

 _People will line up to here you play in no time, baby girl._

A single tear rolled down here cheek as she began to succumb to sleep.

"Goodnight, Joel." She whispered.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Afternote: Finally finished chapter 2 over the weekend! It's been long and exhausting juggling work and writing around but eventually got it ready. Got a longer chapter for you to read here so enjoy!**

 **Just a heads up for the coming week, I'll be away from my laptop all week so won't be able to even start working on chapter 3 until the start of next week most likely.**

 **Thanks to you for reading and I hope you're enjoying this story so far. Should start to get more interesting within the next couple of chapters.**

 **Until next time.**

 **The Courier**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Whew! Finally got around to finishing the third chapter! After two exercises and a battle camp I finally found the time to sit down and just write. Feels good to be writing again. Enjoy chapter 3. :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Last of Us. It is the property of Naughty Dog**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Stranger**

Ellie gasped and sat bolt upright, sending her switchblade clattering to the wooden floor. She squeezed her legs to her chest and buried her forehead into her knees. It happened again. Another chance of rest ruined by the same horrible, lucid nightmare. She was forced to relieve it all over and over again in her mind like a broken record. Each time she found herself staring in disbelief at Joel's lifeless corpse she asked herself if it could have been different. If she could have stopped it. Maybe Joel would still be alive if she hadn't left Jackson that morning. Maybe, she could have saved him.

She was shaken from her pained thoughts by the angry growling that rose from the pit of her stomach. Last night's fire had long since withered and died but the small cabin had retained at least some of it's warmth. Ellie sighed and swung her legs off the camping cot, stretching them and releasing the tension they held. Her own squeak escaped her throat as she stretched, a sigh following close behind as she bent down to retrieve her switchblade. Some things never changed.

The physical aches of the day before brought all the emotional pain with them. An icy shiver ran down Ellie's spine and she found herself glancing anxiously out of the window just to settle her mind. Her persistent hunger dragged her back, demanding her attention. She rifled through the cupboards once more and picked out a rectangular tin she'd never seen before.

 _Sardines._ She read.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, I guess..." She said, rolling back the metal lid.

Had there actually been anything in her stomach at the time she was sure it would have been all over the floor by now. She threw her head back in disgust as the fishy stench hit her nostrils.

"Woah! And people actually ate this stuff?" She asked herself.

Ellie held the tin at arms length for a few moments before setting it down as far back into the cupboard as she could.

"No. Some questions are better without answers." She concluded, pulling another tin from the shelf.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she read the label.

 _Canned beef._

She ripped open the lid and shoveled the cold food into her mouth, chewing furiously before swallowing it. The meat slid its way down her throat but at least it didn't smell as bad as the sardines. The demolished tin fell to the floor and a long, loud burp erupted from Ellie's mouth. Without pause, she grabbed another can and devoured it's contents without even checking what it was. Within the space of ten minutes a pile of cans had grown at her feet.

Defeated, Ellie collapsed into one of the wooden chairs in the middle of the cabin. She moaned at her satisfied stomach and peered out of the window. Last night's rain had relented long ago but flecks of condensation still dribbled casually down the glass panes. The trees beyond were partially concealed by the shroud of mist that had closed in during the night. Golden rays of sunlight shone through the cracks in the forest canopy and caused clouds of steam to rise from the mossy ground. Ellie sighed as she recalled something she had said to Joel during their search for the Fireflies.

 _Jury's still out but man, you can't deny that view._

That all seemed so long ago now. Almost four years and she could still remember it as clear as day.

Forcing herself to pull away from her thoughts, she took the time now to look around the modest little cabin. From a distance and in the dark it had looked somehow larger than it was, almost jumping from between the trees when she first discovered it. The bolt on the front door had thankfully stayed secure throughout the night. Ellie hadn't noticed in her rush for at least some sense of security that the latch was only held shut by a mere centimeter of two. She shuddered and quickly attempted to pull the lock tighter, but only gained another half centimeter at most. The door itself was simple and wooden, similar to the rest of the cabin. A small circle of glass was positioned at around eye level. Ellie craned her neck to peer through it. Years of neglect had caused the gap to fill with dust and Ellie could only make out the vague shapes of tree trunks beyond the glass.

The remainder of the cabin was in surprisingly good condition given it's age. The roof remained intact and the glass, despite a couple of cracks, unbroken. A couple of the floorboards creaked as Ellie applied her weight to them. Almost everything about the cabin reminded her of the house she inhabited in Jackson. Ellie tried to imagine herself living here. Waking up to each sunrise, hunting game in the woods or pulling fish from the glistening lake. She sighed and cut herself away from her daydream. Maybe some day.

But not today.

Gathering up her belongings, Ellie unbolted the lock on the door and gingerly pushed it away from her. It swung lazily open with a long creak. Ellie bit her lip as she scrutinized the trees beyond the cabin's fenced perimeter. The green leaves waved to her as the wind breezed past them. She took a careful step out onto the small wooden porch and began to descend the short steps. The damp wood smelled of mildew and age. Ellie found confidence as the moist dirt crunched beneath her trainers and she began a brisk pace around the back of the cabin. She could see her breath condense as it escaped from her nose and lips as she rounded the corner. She let out a short gasp as she noticed the holes in the ground. Three of them, 4ft wide and 6ft deep partially filled with water. The skeletal remains of the closest grave lay at the bottom, partially submerged. The skull's empty eyes seemed to burn into Ellie's as she stared down at the corpse. She noted the neat crack in the center of the forehead that resembled where a blunt object had bludgeoned them to death. Ellie broke her gaze and noticed the lead pipe discarded at the foot of the graves. She'd seen more than her share of corpses in her eighteen years but she still couldn't shake the despair that accompanied it. Choking back the vomit rising in her throat, she turned from the gruesome scene and began walking. Her feet hit a trampled dirt path and she followed it, quickening her pace away from the sad cabin in the woods.

 _Is there anywhere in this world untouched by evil and death?_ She thought to herself as a single tear slid down her cheek.

* * *

Susan sat in the tent in silence, glaring at the man sat before her. He screwed up his face in pain as a young doctor examined the arrow protruding from his shoulder. She was about to open her mouth to say something but quickly decided against it, fearing her rage would take over.

"Okay, hold still, Rosen. And here," The young doctor said, handing the man a glass of alcohol. "This'll help with the pain."

The man nodded and took the glass from her, tipping it's contents into his mouth and swallowing them. The young doctor turned to Susan.

"Sue, give me and hand please? Hold him steady." She asked.

Susan nodded and stood up. She moved over to Rosenthal and wrapped her arms tight around his arms and torso.

"Okay. You ready?" The doctor asked the him.

"Just get it over with already." He snapped.

Rosenthal's screams were loud and caused several others outside the tent to glance at the entrance flap as the doctor grasped the arrow where it had entered his flesh and pulled as hard as she could. He struggled violently as the wooden shaft was removed. The doctor stumbled and fell backwards, the arrow still in her hand as he continued to scream.

"Painkillers!" The doctor shouted at Susan, pointing behind her.

Susan turned her head and saw the syringe on a field table. She grabbed it and pulled off the safety cap before jabbing the sharp needle into the flesh of his bicep. Slowly, his screams died down as the drug took effect and slowed his heart rate. The doctor picked herself up and quickly bandaged up the open wound. Once she had finished she sighed and took a step back.

"Is he gonna be okay, Eva?" Susan asked her.

"Yeah. He'll be pretty sore for about a month until the wound starts to heal itself but he should be fine." The doctor said, wiping the swear from her brow.

Susan's eyes narrowed.

"Good."

Susan stepped forward and cracked her fist into Rosenthal's jaw. He yelped and shot his hand up to his mouth. Eva stepped back in surprise.

"Agh! What the fuck, Sue!?" Rosenthal growled.

She grabbed his collar and shook him.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Rosen?" Susan snarled. "You know we need her alive! So why the fuck were am I being told you ordered the men to open fire on her?"

Rosenthal stared up at her, breathing heavily.

"Tell me!" She yelled again.

"The little bitch shot me with an arrow, Sue! A fucking arrow! And we lost a lot of good men assaulting that fucking shanty town for her. Is she really worth the lives of any more of our men?" Rosenthal said to her. He watched the rage in her eyes dissipate slightly as she let go of his collar and turned her back on him. Eva watched as the tears threatened to squeeze out from her eyes.

"Rosen, you know exactly why that girl is worth more than the lives of our fallen. They knew the risks when they signed up to follow us. She's immune to the infection. Given the chance, I'd sacrifice my own life for that cure. And every man and woman in this camp would do the same." Susan told him quietly.

Rosenthal sighed. He knew she was right. She usually was. He winced as he moved his shoulder and the pain shot through him.

"You're right, Sue. I'm sorry." He said.

She turned to look at him.

"It's okay Rosen. You just need to remember what's at stake here."

"I do, Sue. I do remember."

"Okay. Well, where was the last place you saw her."

Rosenthal smiled and struggled up to his feet and rummaged around in one of his pockets. Susan watched with curiosity and raised an eyebrow when he pulled out a folded piece of paper. With difficulty, he unfolded the paper to produce a map of the local area. He placed it on the field table and gestured for Susan to join him. She stood at his shoulder and he pointed to the location his APCs had driven the girl into the river.

"Well, from the place that we lost her, she couldn't have gotten very far downstream. The only major town around this area is this one here," Rosenthal said, pointing to a word on the map.

"Pinewood." Susan read.

Rosenthal nodded.

"It's only a couple of hours drive from here. The scouts reported a bridge not too far away that seems strong enough to support the APCs weight. We can cross the river there and be in Pinedale by nightfall." Rosenthal said.

For a moment, Susan was quiet. She stared at the map's roads and contours, tracing them with her eyes. She sighed

"Go and tell Rich to get the men ready to move. The transports should be fueled and ready to go. We leave in an hour." Susan said.

Rosenthal smiled and patted Susan on the back, grimacing at the pain his shoulder gave him before he turned and exited the tent with Eva, leaving Susan alone. A thin smile formed itself across her face. She would find the cure. One way or another, if she could convince Ellie to help them she might just be able to save humanity.

She held onto the hope.

And she wouldn't let go.

She couldn't.

* * *

Ellie had spotted the first buildings from a few miles away. As she had left the cover of the forest and descended into the valley, she hand railed the river south. She had always figured she'd find a large town one of these days. In truth, she had only really wanted to stay close to the woods. It reminded her of Jackson and a time when she thought she was safe. A time she was home.

As Ellie grew closer to the collection of buildings and houses, she broke from the paths where they met the tarmacked roads that criss-crossed the country. It sure as hell made walking a lot easier. She listened to the sound her trainers made against the moist tarmac and thought of the times she and Joel would wander through the mountain roads and underpasses around Jackson.

She stopped to read the road sign on the border of the town.

"Pinewood." She read out loud. "Population: 0." She added with a half hearted smile.

Ellie continued into the town, passing by general stores and shops down the main street. She closed her eyes and imagined the sounds of children playing, dogs barking and people just going about their day-to-day business. She opened her eyes and found herself deeper in Pinewood. Close by was a large building with a sign that had once said 'Ridley's Family Market.' Though several of the letters had fallen away so now the sign read 'R dley's ami y Mar et'.

After considering whether the store might contain supplies or not, Ellie eventually dismissed the idea when she noticed the boarded up doors and continued walking, taking a turn down North Sublette Avenue. The houses that stood either side of the street were blackened and long burnt out. Cars and trucks of the same nature lined the streets. It reminded her of the streets of Pittsburgh. Filled with people trying to escape and survive. The street ended at a T-junction and Ellie looked up at the street signs. She was now on Hennick street. Directly opposite her on the other side of the road was a building. The stenciled letters on the side of the building told her it was Pinewood Middle School. She could see the front doors were boarded up.

A two story building sat on the corner of the T-Junction. The curtain on one of the blown out windows moved slightly and Ellie could have sworn that she saw something behind it. She rubbed her eyes and looked again but saw nothing. Was someone there? The door hung on it's hinges atop the wooden staircases. Ellie couldn't fight the urge to check out the building. Maybe it contained supplies she could take. Or at the very least give her a place to rest her feet.

Ellie crossed the road and the gravel car park and stopped at the base of the wooden stairs, looking up at the house.

"Hello?" She called out. "Is anyone there?"

The only reply was the wind billowing past her through the grass and trees.

"This is stupid." She sighed. "Nobody's here.

She began to climb the wooden steps.

Ellie took her first step into the house. At first glance it looked to be just like all the other buildings she'd seen. Picked clean and empty. She was in what she assumed to be the living room. She imagined where the furniture would have once been. Before it was all stolen, that is. Venturing further in, she stood at the window she had first looked up into. Dust covered the aged window frame and little flecks of the stuff danced around the still blowing curtain.

"Waste of time..." She murmured to herself. She stopped and looked down at the window sill again, closer this time. Four finger marks were streaked down the wooden ledge, creating channels in the dust. Ellie slowly gripped her pistol. A floorboard creaked behind her and she span around, drawing the pistol.

"I wouldn't if I were you..." A male voice said from the shadows.

Ellie's eyes widened and she gripped the pistol tighter as she saw the muzzle of a pistol in line with her head.

* * *

The six vehicles rumbled down the 191. Rosenthal's Armoured Personnel Carrier led the convoy, it's tracks throwing up dust from the long unused road. Susan and Rich rode together in one of the troop transporters behind Rosenthal. A second troop transporter drove behind them carrying more soldiers, two more transports then carried supplies and the second APC took up the rear of the convoy. Susan watched as Rosenthal's APC slowed and trundled through a right turn past a general store. In any other circumstance, they would have stopped and searched for supplies. But time was of the essence so there was no stopping.

There was a horrible sound of metal scraping against metal as the lead APC smashed into an abandoned car, pushing it aside like a tin can. They rounded a corner and the first buildings came into view.

"Is that it?" Susan asked.

"Think so, Sue. Pinewood. Scouts have already reported seeing the girl enter the town." Rich replied.

"Good. Keep going." She said.

She peered into the glass window that let her see into the back of the transport underneath the canvas back. Her soldiers were there, resting and preparing. They weren't sure whether anybody would be in the the town. But they sure as hell were ready for it.

* * *

 _Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ Ellie's mind raced. _How the fuck could I have been so stupid?_

The figure stood back in the shadows. All she could see of him was the vague outline and pistol muzzle. He was just about taller than she was.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"Just passing through." She replied, gripping her weapon tighter.

"Yeah? Guess we have that in common then." He said, taking a step forward.

"I'm not looking to make friends." Ellie said blatantly.

"Who said I wanted to be friends?" He replied quietly.

The pair stood in silence for a moment.

"Well, what now?" He asked. "Seems we've hit an impasse."

Ellie gave the figure a puzzled look.

"Um... A what?" She asked.

"Never mind." The figure said. "Look, I don't wanna hurt you. But I will defend myself if i have to."

The figure took a step closer. He came into the light and Ellie could see him in detail. He was young. A similar age to what she was. He wore a pair of worn out, ripped jeans and a T-shirt. His short, brown hair caught in the breeze. Dirt and scars covered his bare skin. Ellie looked at his face. She forgot herself for a moment as she studied his face. He stared at her with his deep, blue eyes. He was somewhat clean shaven which surprised her slightly.

"What?" He asked, breaking her from her gaze. "I got something on my face or something?"

Ellie half smiled.

"You do, actually.

The young man looked surprised.

"Oh." He said.

"Look," Ellie began. "You're obviously different to the last few people I met so how about we just lower our guns and we'll go our separate ways?"

The young man's brow furrowed.

"How'm I different?" He asked.

"Well, you've not tried to shoot me on sight," She said. "Yet."

The young man narrowed his eyes.

"Alright. Drop your weapon and I'll be on my way." He said.

"Fuck you, drop yours first." She replied, somewhat insulted.

The pair stared at each other again, neither said a word.

"Together?" They chorused.

"Okay. Three..." He said.

"Two..." She said

"One." They said together.

They slowly lowered their weapons but remained on edge.

"Well, alright then. Nice meeting you I guess." The young man said.

Ellie said nothing as he walked slowly towards the door. He was about to exit and leave when they both heard the squealing of rubber against metal and the roar of engines. Ellie covered the distance between the two of them in seconds. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down into cover.

"Get down!" She cried.

She peered up over the window sill and watched in fear. The two behemoth APCs from the day before rolled slowly down the street followed by a canvas-backed troop transport. Ellie willed the vehicles to keep driving. Her heart sank as the APCs ground to a halt. There was a metallic whine as the ramps lowered at the back of the APCs. She watched soldiers, armed with assault rifles and pump action shotguns sprint down the ramps and form a perimeter around the vehicles.

"Spread out! Find the girl. She's in here somewhere." One soldier shouted over the rumbling machines.

Ellie dropped her head down behind the window again. She and the young man looked at each other. He gave her a look.

"Friends of yours?" He asked.

"Sorta.." She replied.

There was another squealing roar from outside as one of the APCs pulled away.

"By the way," The young man started. "I'm Jack."

She looked at him.

"Ellie." She whispered.

Jack smiled slightly.

It soon faded though and Jack and Ellie stared at each other in fear as they heard the sound of boots on the wooden staircase and a shadow fall upon the door. Ellie tightly held her pistol in anticipation, Jack did the same. The barrel of a shotgun appeared slowly through the doorway.

Jack leveled his pistol at the doorway beside him and rested his finger on the trigger...

* * *

 **Afternote: Hey, thanks a bunch for reading. I hope that you find this interesting to read. As always, feel free to review, PM etc. I'm hoping to start being able to work on chapter four through the coming week and establish some form or regularity between updates but as I've mentioned before, timings can change in a heartbeat.**

 **This week shouldn't be too bad for time and I hope to have chapter four up and ready for you by the end of the next week, possibly sooner fingers crossed.**

 **Until then.**

 **The Courier**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm sorry that it took so long but I've finally managed to finish Chapter 4. Work has been so busy these past couple of weeks and the next few aren't going to get much better. So to that end, I must apologize that I might not update for a couple of months until I can square away work and all the rest of it. I'm sorry that I don't have an estimated time for you to expect the next chapter by so please keep checking and I will update at some point in the future.**

 **Regardless of my poor admin skills, I do really hope you're enjoying reading Lost in Darkness and please do message and review. =)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Last of Us, It belongs to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Hunted**

 **BANG!**

The single 9mm round exploded from the pistol's muzzle and embedded itself deep into the soldier's knee as he stepped through the open doorway.

"Aggh fuck! Fuck!" He yelled, clutching his oozing knee.

A second round to his head silenced his cries. Jack was quick to snatch up the pump action shotgun that lay underneath the soldier's corpse. He grabbed the pump and worked the action, forcing a cartridge from the tube into the chamber. A second shadow fell over him as another soldier appeared in the doorway, an assault rifle in his hands and a ballistic mask covering his face. Jack aimed loosely and fired the shotgun. Small cracks appeared in the masks hardened screen where the shot pellets impacted. Jack gripped the forend of the shotgun, cocked it and fired again, then again. The soldier's ballistic mask caved in on itself, taking half of the man's face with it. The soldier's corpse hit the floor with a dull thud as a dark pool of red gathered around the mush that remained of his head. Jack grabbed the soldier's assault rifle and pulled it into the room with them, throwing it across the floor towards Ellie. He scuttled like some sort of spider and closed the distance between them, scooping up the assault rifle and handing Ellie the shotgun. He pulled back on the assault rifle's cocking handle and watched the 5.56mm round itself from the weapon's right hand side before snatching up the brass round and placing it in his pocket. Slowly, he stood up and turned his back to the door.

"Hey, you!" A muffled shout bellowed.

Jack whipped around and caught sight of a soldier, his shotgun trained in Jack's direction.

"Oh shit!" Jack cursed.

"What're you waitin' for? Fuckin' waste him!" A second soldier ordered.

Ellie, thinking fast, threw herself into Jack and pulled him down into cover as a blast of shot peppered the wall.

Ellie gritted her teeth as rounds whipped all around them. She felt Jack's hand grasp her forearm, almost touching her bite mark. Electrified, she snatched her arm out of his grip and felt him grab the top of her jacket instead, dragging her away from underneath the window as rounds ripped through the wood with ease. As bullets tore around them, they cowered down as low as they could to the floor to protect themselves. Ellie squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her hands over her ears, yelling as the gunfire roared. Then, suddenly as it had started, all was quiet.

"Fuck!" Came a muffled curse.

Ellie quickly snapped her eyes open and whirled around the corner, throwing the shotgun up into her shoulder. She gripped the weapons forend, trained the sights on the soldier and squeezed the trigger. The weapon roared and the soldier's neck near came clean away from his body, a geyser of blood gushed from the open wound. She stared at the corpse as it collapsed to the floor. It looked as though somebody had come along and just... hacked away at the man's... head... She fought to control her ragged breathing as the bitter cold winter wind her mind had created whistled around her.

"Ellie? Ellie!?" Jack called, shaking the girl's shoulder as she remained completely motionless, staring straight ahead at the corpse in front of them.

An eerie silence had caused a momentary lull in the gunfire.

"Ellie, he's fucking dead!" He hissed at her. "We've got to..."

Jack cut his words short as he heard several dull thuds as something landed in front of them. Ellie murmured something that Jack couldn't quite hear.

"What?" He whispered.

"DOWN!" Ellie screamed, grabbing Jack and forcing him closer to the floor.

There was a blinding flash of light and the sounds of thunder.

* * *

Steven waited patiently behind his men. He watched carefully as his point man pulled the small, black cylinders out of his combat vest and pulled the rings from the top of them. As the flash bang and gas grenades were tossed through the open window, Steven checked again that his helmet and respirator were firmly secured on his head and that the safety catch on his pistol was off. Whoever this fuck that thought it'd be a good idea to shoot his soldiers was, Steven wanted to be sure he killed them. No prisoners.

Not this time.

 **BOOM! BOOM!**

The flash and gas grenades went off with dull cracks. For a moment, Steven was taken slightly aback by the shock wave that coursed through his body. He shook his mind free as his men pushed him from behind.

"Go! Go! Get in there!" They yelled.

Steven entered the building and scanned his arcs of fire, almost tripping over the corpses of his two soldiers as he went. He kept his pistol raised and went for one of the far rooms. The sound of his men crashing through the building's rooms drowned out his rapid breathing. Sickly, green gas swirled around him, obscuring his view beyond his respirator's lenses.

"Room clear!" One pair shouted.

Steven felt the gloved hand of a soldier on his shoulder as he stopped at the far room. An assault rifle barrel appeared over his shoulder. He held out three fingers and slowly lowered them.

 _Three._

 _Two._

 _One._

Steven span around the corner into the room, his eyes out on stalks trying to pick out any targets through the gas. It was a large room with a master bed in the center and a row of closets lining one whole wide of the room. A broken out window One of the soldiers threw the bed over. Nobody was under it, however. They ripped open each closet in turn but found nothing but old clothes or nothing at all. Until Steven pulled open the last one.

Steven froze on the spot as he stared in at the skeletons, their bones locked in an embrace. During their final moments, they must have comforted each other as they died. Steven adjusted his helmet uncomfortably and wiped his gloved hand across his mouth.

"Jesus..." He breathed.

"Steve," A soldier called. "Building's clear. He got away."

Steven nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Let's go." He said. "He's in this town somewhere, find him."

Steven turned to follow his men out but halted himself as he glanced at the window. He stopped to pull a small shred of red fabric from the broken glass. Quietly, he stuffed the ripped cloth into his combat vest.

* * *

Ellie's retinas screamed in protest as the first grenade went off, blinding her. She inhaled quickly through her mouth and immediately wished that she hadn't. As her vision returned to normal, her throat burned and she broke into a fit of violent coughing as her nose began to stream. She couldn't hear anything other than a shrill, high-pitched ringing in her ears. The scene in front of her played out in slow motion like some silent movie. She first saw through the horrible, green mist, a pair of armoured legs charging into the room. A bright torch pierced through the fog, searching for them. A violent reaction in her stomach occurred and she felt the vomit rise up through her windpipe. Green, acidic, bile erupted from her mouth and nose, spilling over the floor in front of her. She wiped her sleeve across her face but she couldn't stop coughing. She felt a pair of hands grab the fabric of her shirt and pull her back.

In a daze, she struggled to her feet as Jack grabbed her left arm and pulled her into the back room. She barely glanced at the room as Jack lifted his leg and booted the glass window until he'd smashed out a gap big enough to crawl through. Ellie regained some of her senses enough to watch Jack disappear through the broken window. She picked herself up and launched herself after him. She winced as she felt a ragged shard of glass pierce through her shirt and rip away a chunk of cloth, and her skin with it.

Her feet hit the dirt first and she crumpled up at the impact, her mouth open in a silent yelp. Or was it a real yelp and she just couldn't hear it yet? Her throat still burned and she rolled over to retch into the dust. She spat out globules of green phlegm and groaned.

"What the fuck!" She cursed, getting to her feet.

Jack shook her.

"C'mon, we gotta get outta here!" He shouted, taking off into the maze of back streets and alleys of Pinewood.

But Ellie remained still. She regained her breath and pressed her back up against the building as she heard the soldiers crashing about at the window above her. A rifle barrel emerged from the window frame and moved about, scanning the alley opposite the window. She waited for the soldiers to leave before she sprinted away from the building and a different direction to Jack had gone.

Her feet pounded in the dirt as she sprinted. She risked looking over her shoulder but only saw the empty alley that she'd left behind. Suddenly, she found herself crossing over a road. As the evening sun began to drop below the horizon Ellie gasped as she was caught in a vehicles headlights.

"Shit!" She gasped.

The truck screeched to a stop in front of her. Her eyes opened wide in fear as she leveled the shotgun at the windscreen and fired three shots into it. She dropped the empty weapon at her feet and turned to run as the trucks back dropped and soldiers piled out and gave chase.

"The girl! Remember, Less-Than-Lethal shots only!" One soldier shouted.

Ellie dove down another alleyway, no idea where she was going. She kept running as the soldiers gained on her. Several gunshots rang out behind her and she heard the rounds impact into the wall next to her. She cursed and ducked as more rounds came in. She bobbed and weaved to avoid them down the long alley. The sounds of their shouts began to fade away as she put distance between herself and the soldiers. A final, loud crack sounded from behind her and she gasped as a hard, solid object smashed into the back of her leg.

"Fuck! Damn it!" She yelled as her leg began to throb painfully.

She writhed on the ground and fought to see past the water in her eyes to find what had hit her. A small, black object the size of a baseball lay close to her. A rubber bullet. The sound of boots fast approaching. Ellie threw herself around as two pairs of gloved hands grabbed hold of her.

"Gotcha now!" One of them gasped, his breathing ragged from running so far in a respirator.

Ellie protested and struggled as they began to drag her back the way she had come.

"Fuck you! Let go of me!" She spat.

"Shut up!" The soldier snapped.

Ellie threw her head back and brought her open mouth down on the arm of one soldier. She grunted as a stab of pain shot through her mouth as she bit down on the protected armour plates covering his forearm. Ellie closed her eyes and fought to try and escape the grasp of the two soldiers.

"Quit your squirming!" One ordered her as they both lifted her up and slammed her hard against the ground.

Ellie gasped as the air was forced out of her lungs, spittle dribbled down the side of her mouth as she desperately tried to suck oxygen into her lungs. As her vision started to blur and consciousness began to slip away from her, Ellie felt the tight grip around her shoulders release her. She blinked hard and wiped the water from her eyes as a deep, gurgling roar sent chills down her spine. She rolled onto her front in time to see the bloater swing it's meaty arms at one of the soldiers. It's limb connected with the soldiers head, cracking his respirator lenses and breaking his helmet strap. The kevlar rolled off his head, leaving him exposed. The soldier screamed as the Bloater's foot squished his head. Ellie grimaced as grey brain matter stuck to the Bloater's flesh. The second soldier cried in fear and anger, firing his pump action shotgun repeatedly into the Bloater's chest. But the creature simply shrugged off the 12 gauge rounds. It gripped the shotgun barrel and pulled it from the soldier's grip before ripping the respirator from the soldier's face. The soldier screamed in terror as the Bloater took hold of the man's face, desperately trying to pull at his jaw. Ellie turned her gaze at the sound of tearing flesh.

She stumbled to her feet, turning her back to the Bloater and the recently deceased corpses of Susan's men. Ellie raced back down the side street, taking turn after turn without any clue where she was headed. Her lungs threatened to burst inside her chest as she emerged out onto an open street. Gunfire and the screams of infected surrounded her and echoed through the streets.

 _Where now? C'mon, Ellie. Where now?_ She thought to herself.

Ellie gasped as she saw a familiar sight. She raced across the street and launched herself through an open door to Ridley's Family Market, slamming it closed behind her.

"Fuck," Ellie cursed as she scanned the the door. "No lock..."

The space behind her was filled with solid, seemingly impenetrable darkness. One of the tracked vehicles rolled by outside, unleashing hell with the deafening yet rhythmic fire from it's main cannon.

 **Thump-Thump-Thump, Thump-Thump-Thump.**

Gathering her nerves, Ellie snatched the 9mm pistol from her waistband and reached her free arm forward, probing for a wall. Relief washed over her as her fingers found the solid plasterboard. Exhaling gently, she felt her way along until she found a door frame. With her pistol leading the way, Ellie took her first cautious steps into the room.

"Oh man..." She whispered.

* * *

The 5.56mm assault rifle vibrated in Steven's arms as he soaked up the recoil into his shoulder. Rounds erupted from the weapon and ripped into the horde of infected he and his small fireteam were desperately trying to keep at bay as the withdrew. He silently damned himself for allowing himself to become separated from the main search force. They had originally been searching in a larger group twenty strong with one of the APCs to support them.

Then the infected had attacked...

They'd come out of the damn woodwork. Steven had never seen so many infected appear so suddenly at one time. Reacting as they had been trained to, Steven's men had positioned themselves into an effective firing line to hold against them. But there were simply too many and despite the complete protection the military armour and equipment provided against both bites and spores, some of the men lost their nerve.

"Cowards! Stand and fight!"Steven yelled as the men peeled away from their baseline.

It didn't help that the fucking APC had also retreated, rolling itself backwards at speed down the street. He'd never have admitted it but Steven knew he should have followed it with the rest of the soldiers. But that didn't matter now. He had three of his brothers to look after and keep safe. And he was damned if he was going to let them down.

His assault rifle made a distinct metallic click and Steven instinctively checked for the problem before ejecting the empty magazine and sliding in a fresh one, hitting the bolt release and sending a round into the chamber. How much longer could they hold out against this horde? They had seemed to have come out of nowhere! One minute they had been scouring the streets for the girl and that damned other kid. Then he had kicked in the wrong door. Surprise had seeped into him as his boot had connected with the wooden door and sent it off it's hinges, crashing down at the feet of half a dozen runners taking refuge in the building. They seemed almost as surprised as he was, staring out at him with cold, dead, blood-red eyes.

The silence didn't last for long.

 **BANG!**

Steven was snapped back into action as a 12 gauge shotgun went off beside him. His ears rang as the head of one of the infected runners erupted in a shower of blood and spores, painting the walls behind it followed by the war cries of his three men as they unloaded into the runners. Their dying screams pierced the otherwise still air, mingling with the distant rifle and cannon fire as the desperate fighting raged throughout Pinewood. Steven could have sworn he heard the dying beg them to stop, like they didn't want to die, as if there was still somebody in there. They'd put a stop to all of this. They had to succeed where the Fireflies had failed.

If anybody could save this world, Susan could. And Steven knew he would follow her to hell and back.

"Alright, boys. This seems as good a place to regroup as any. Slap in a fresh mag, get some water on board and get ready to go in a few." Steven sighed, reloading his own weapon, noting he only had two magazines left.

He glanced over at his three men, wiping the condensation from their respirator lenses, reloading their weapons and trying to regain some of their composure.

"C'mon, through here." He sighed, gesturing a darkened hallway.

The darkness within seemed to grow thicker the deeper it went. Still, it beat travelling on the streets, still swarmed with infected. Steven carefully and quietly led his men into the gloomy hallway, glancing at a collection of faded letters on the wall. The words only briefly registered in his mind.

 _Ridley's Family Market_


End file.
